How many bicycles should a cyclist own?

Very interesting question, huh? The correct answer is, N+1. “N” stands for the number of bicycle a cyclist currently has and one more.

For most cyclists, there is always a better, a lighter, an exotic frame material- the proverbial “green grass” outside our fences. Cyclists would always say, after buying their dream bicycle, that this one is for keeps. Well, true, at least for the next 12months, or until the next model comes out.

Since I bought my first road machine back in ’88, I’ve owned about ten bicycles. I’ve sold most of them. At one time, I had four in the house, 1 TT and three road bike. I had disposed of my TT bike a few years ago after my back said no to a TT position and the road bike just a few months ago. Now I have two.

Now, there is this scratch that needs to be scratched.

There are so many kinds of bikes in the world today- road, mountain, BMX, track, downhill, endurance, TT, cruisers- and the latest is a gravel bike, a cross between a MTB and a road bike.

I remember Steve Jobs saying something about creating a product not because the customer needs it but create a new product that the customer feels the need that he/she needs it. That is exactly what bicycle companies are doing and its not exclusive to the cycling industry.

Here are five reasons why we feel the need to own more bikes.

1- Keeping up with the Jones’s. Bikes are the “in” thing these days. You can’t go to the gym, so cycling, being an outdoor activity, fits the bill in these pandemic times. If my neighbour or co-worker can, then I can!

2- You are a collector. Craig Morrow founded “Bicycle Haven”, a bike museum with a showroom space of 650m²  and over 3,500 bicycles with an additional 27,000 in storage. There are over 100,000 parts to keep the collection in repair (Wikipedia).

3- You want to impress the peloton. Fortunately, I know of nobody who has this reason to need for more. If there are people like tis here in Cebu, it would be very rare. A good bike is unreasonably expensive if you think about it logically.

4- You are a collector. People collect stuff, from stamps to old magazines. My college landlord, the late soccer great from San Carlos City, Alfredo de Jesus, Sr., collected ashtrays. Another friend has a collection of classic steel bikes, while another has a collection of 70’s cruisers.  The late actor and comedian Robin WIlliams was an avid cyclist and bike collector. He was believed to own more than 50 expensive bicycles but he gave it away for auction for the physically disabled.

5- You have this illogical love of bikes. For most of the population, they are flummoxed as to the reasons why we buy bikes that are way beyond our monthly salaries. They get more flummoxed we tel them that we need another one.

I’ve heard this a lot of times already, when I’m on a boat bound for Bohol, when some ignorant folk would comment loudly, “I would rather buy a multicab than buy that thing”.

Well, nobody’s stopping you.